The mighty Puneri Paltan bested a young and resilient Haryana Steelers to lift their first-ever Pro Kabaddi League trophy, adding their name in the annals of history.
In what was an exciting Finale which could have gone either way, a guided performance from Puneri Paltan took them to the trophy with a 28-25 victory over the Steelers at the GMC Balayogi Sports Complex in Gachibowli here on Friday night.
The defence of Puneri Paltan gave their side an early lead after they got Haryana Steelers’ raiders Shivam Patare and Vinay.
However, Mohit Goyat was then tackled as the Steelers got on the scoreboard in the final. This boosted their confidence as Rahul Sethpal led the charge with his defending to keep the clash interesting.
The ultimate match of PKL 10 was a closely fought encounter in the first half as Haryana Steelers had an answer to all of Puneri Paltan’s raids. However, a moment of magic from Pankaj Mohite saw him complete a Super Raid worth four points as the Paltan contingent took a decisive lead.
Ashish’s successful raid in the final seconds for the Steelers meant that the score read 10-13 in the Paltan’s favour heading into the final 20 minutes of Season 10.
The only All-Out of the finale came off Mohit Goyat’s raiding, giving Puneri Paltan a substantial lead at the start of the second half. This did not deter the spirit of a young Haryana Steelers, as their raiders entered the action and grabbed as many bonus points as they could to get them close to Puneri Paltan.
Pankaj Mohite was the game-changer for Puneri Paltan in the Grand Finale as the resilience of Haryana Steelers was met with brilliance to keep the fans on the edge of their seats.
Siddharth Desai got the better of Puneri Paltan skipper Aslam Inamdar and star all-rounder Mohammadreza Chiyaneh late on to give his team hope but the Paltan lived up to their form to seal their maiden PKL trophy and prove their credentials of being the best team in Season 10.
